Floor covering and method of making same



Aug. 27, 1935. R. G. KNOWLAND FLOOR COVERING AND METHOD OF MAKING SAMEOriginal Filed Nov. 6, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR $0.4M 2{2110401427.

ATT OR NEY Ax lg. 27, 1935. R. G. KNOWLAND 2,012,929

FLOOR COVERING AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Original Filed Nov. 6, 1933 2Sheets-Sheet 2 //\1 l/ENTO R $40M &

ATTORNEY P mzzms """"2,01z ,9z9T

UNITED STATES PATENT oFi-"ic-E;

' FLOOR COVERING AND METHOD OF I MAKINGBALIE Richard G. Knowland,Pelham, N. Y., assignor to Bigelow-Sanford Carpet 00.,Inc.,"1hompsonville, Conn, a corporation of Massachusetts ApplicationNovember 6, 1933, Serial No. 696,826

- Renewed March 2, 1935 5 Claims. (Cl. 154-2) This invention relates tofloor coverings as typiplaced upon the floor the floor covering presentsfled in woven carpets and rugs and the method no seams and unequalstretching is prevented. of making such floor coverings. The adhesivefor connecting the pile fabric It has been the usual practice heretoforeto breadths or strips and the underlying fabric may 5 combine severalbreadths or strips of carpet edge be applied either to the pile fabricstrips or to- 5 to edge to form a coverage area suitable to the theunderlying fabric or to both, but in the preiloor'to be covered and theadjacent edges of the ferred form of the invention the adhesive will bebreadths of carpet whether in rug form or plain ordinarily applied tothe back of the pile fabric, so carpeting have been secured together bya seam, that portions of such pile fabric may be removed such forinstance assewing. Such a seam, howand complemental portions of anotherpile fabric 10 ever, is open to the objection that it produces asimilarly supplied with an adhesive on its back ridge or bulge in thefloor covering extending may be substituted for the removed portions oflengthwise of the carpet breadths or strips. the first pile fabric, thusproducing a pattern or This matter has been recognized and attemptsdecorative effect, which becomes a permanent have been made to eliminatethe objectionable part of the floor covering when the underlying 15 seamand secure the breadths of floor covering fabric is applied. together byan underlying narrow strip of tape The invention and novel featuresthereof will cemented to the backing along the adjoining best be madeclear from. the following description edges. This expedient haseliminated the objecand accompanying drawings showing one good tionableseam but is itself open to a further obpractical form thereof. 7 20jection in that unequal stretching of the fabric In the drawings:- isliable to detach the adjoining edges from the Fig. 1 is a disassembledperspective view showunderlying narrow strip, thus causing the sepaing afloor covering in the form of a rug with ration of adjoining edges.,Further attempts the parts ready to be assembled;

5 have been made to overcome this defect by secur- Fig. 2 is aperspective view of a rug containing ing the narrow strip of tape to theunderlying the present invention and in its completed and portions ofthe carpet breadths or strips by metal assembled form; and clips inaddition to the cement. I Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail showing theunder- In its broader aspect the present invention prolying fa a thesuperposed P b c vides a floor covering and method of making thebreadths. 30

same whereby stretching apart of the edges of As shown the floorcovering is formed of a pluadjacent breadths of fabric, unequalstretching rality of woven fabric strips I, of which there thereof, andmany of the difficulties encounmay be any suitable number, and eachcomprises tered with other types of similar fabrics will a backingfabric 2 to which the pile forming yarns be overcome,- and to this endthe floor cov- 3 are secured. The'pile fabric strips I are each 35 eringis composed of breadths of pile fabric provided on its back in theconstruction shown assembled edge to edge and having cemented to with anadhesive and are assembled with their the back thereof by suitableadhesive, breadths adjacent edges in abutting relation, as indicated ofa cheaper fabric arranged crosswise of the pile by the dotted line 4.

40 fabric breadths, with the result that the under- Since the pilefabric strips are provided with 40 lying or backing fabric not onlycrosses the strips an adhesive on the back thereof the pile forming ofthe carpet or rug but likewise extends transyarns are held fromravelling or falling out when .versely of the adjoining edges thereofand the adthe pile fabric strips themselves are cut orhave hesiveconnections between it and the pile fabric portions removed.

strips permanently secure the edges of such strips It may be desirableat times to provide orna- 5 or breadthsflin close abutting relation. Themental borders 5 and 6 and in order that the backing or underlyingfabric is thus co-extensive edges of the pile fabric strips themselvesand the with the floor area to be covered, that is, the borders may beclosely assembled in abutting rebacking fabric and superposed strips ofpile fabric lation, the selvage edges on the several strips may aresubstantially of the same area. be removed. 50

Afloor covering constructed in accordance with The construction thus fardescribed lends itthe present invention may be produced at the selffavorably to ornamentation by removing pormanufacturing plant and rolledand shipped in tions of the pile fabric strips and inserting intosubstantially the same manner as the standard the removed portionscomplemental pile fabric or broad loom fabrics so that when unrolled andother character of fabric, the back of which has 2 been similarlytreated, in other words, supplied with an adhesive. 4

As shown in Pig. 1 the pile fabric strips have had removed therefrom aportion representing the outline of a sheep as at 'I and since the pilefabric strips are provided with an adhesive on the back the pile yarnsare prevented from ravelling or becoming detached.

Similarly, the ornamental insert may be formed of another pile'fabricsimilarly treated, that is, the backing of the ornamental pile fabricwill be supplied with an adhesive so that the pile forming yarns of theinsert will remain undisturbed when the ornament is died out from asecond pile fabric. In the present instance, the ornamental insert isshown in the form of a sheep i which is complemental to the removedportion at 'I in the pile fabric strips. In order that the assembledparts may be held in their assembled relation with the edges of theseveral parts abutting there is another underlying fabric formed of acheaper material which may or may not be provided with an adhesivesurface. The strips 9 of the underlying fabric extend crosswise ortransversely with relation to the pile fabric strips and such strips ofthe underlying fabric are co-extensive with the pile fabric strips, sothat when the pile fabric strips, as indicated in Fig. 1, are assembledwith the edges of the strips and ornaments in abutting relation and theassembly is applied to the underlying transversely extending fabric andadhesively secured thereto, the parts constituting the tread surface ofthe floor covering will be held with their edges in close abuttingrelation and present no seam.

The underlying fabric may be conveniently formed of canvas which is notonly flexible but of suflicient strengh to afford a backing to the treadsurface of the floor covering throughout its extent.

Since the lengthwise dimension of the strips constituting the'underlyingfabric extend transversely to the pile fabric strips and their abuttingedge portions any unequal stretch or pulling apart of any of the edgesof the assembled parts will be prevented. This results from the wellknown fact that the warp threads of a fabric are under tension whenwoven and consequently any tendency of the floor covering to becomedistorted finds resistance in the counteracting effect of the underlyingfabric strips.

When the tread surface constituted by the pile fabric strips has beenassembled with the ornamentation and borders and adhesive applied to theunderlying fabric, as hereinbefore described,

the resulting floor covering takes the aspect as indicated in Fig. 2.

In assembling the pile fabric strips'and its 01'- namentation, asuitable solvent may be employed to condition the adhesive on the backofv the pile fabric strips and/or underlying canvas, so that whencompleted either at the manufacturing plant or in the fleld a floorcovering is formed in which there is no visible seam and in case it bedesired to contrast the ornamental insert with the rest of the floorcovering the pile of the insert may be longer or shorter than the pileof .the pile fabric strips or it may be differently colored, thuspresenting a highly ornamental eifect.

What is claimed is: l. A floor. covering comprising strips of wovenfabric having pile forming yarns constituting one.

face. thereof and a backing to which the pile forming yarns are secured,and an underlying flexible fabric co-extensive with the floor coveringand formed of strips of fabric extending crosswise relative to the'pilesupporting strips, and a flexible adhesive connecting the pile formingstrips to the crosswise underlying fabric strips and serving to securethe pile forming strips with their edges in close abutting relation.

2. As an article of manufacture, a floor covering comprising a pluralityof strips of woven fabric having a pile surface and arranged with theiredges in abutting relation, and an underneath fabric coextensive withthe floor covering and formed of fabric strips whose longitudinaldimension extends crosswise of the pile fabric strips and their abuttingedges, and an adhesive connecting the underlying strips to the pilefabric strips and serving to secure the pile fabric strips to theunderlying fabric strips with the edges of the former in close abuttingrelation.

3. A floor covering comprising strips of woven fabric having pileforming yarns constituting one face thereof and a backing to which thepile forming yarns are secured, and an underlying flexible fabricco-extensive with the floor covering and formed of strips of canvasextending crosswise relative to the pile supporting strips, and aflexible adhesive connecting the pile forming strips to the crosswiseunderlying canvas strips and serving to secure the pile forming stripswith their edges in close abutting relation.

4. The method of making a floor covering which consists in applying anadhesive to the back of pile fabric strips, applying an adhesive to theback of another pile fabric, assemblying portions of the two pilefabrics to complete the pile area of the floor covering and adhesivelysecuring both of the assembled pile fabric portions to a separateunderlying fabric with its longitudinal dimension and warp threadscrossing the abutting edges of the pile fabric strips.

5. A floor covering comprising strips of woven abutting relation.

RICHARD G. KNOWLAND.

